TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2012 /CNW/ -Outstanding energy reduction efforts and achievements by the Toronto
region's commercial real estate sector were announced at CivicAction's second annual Race to Reduce Awards event last night. Winners' energy reduction efforts contributed
to a collective 2.0%* per cent energy reduction by participants in the
first year of the four-year Race to Reduce smart energy office challenge.

The 2012 Race to Reduce awards took place as part of the Toronto Real Estate Forum. The event is one of several during the week-long celebration of
CivicAction's ten years of driving conversation and creating
collaborative solutions that shape our communities, strengthen our
environment, and bolster our economy.

Other award highlights include:

Building performance: Brookfield Office Properties and Crown Property Management led the way in Lowest Overall Energy Use, and Crown Property Management and the City of Toronto captured the Greatest Energy Reduction year-over-year awards.

Action and innovation: Royal Bank of Canada and Cadillac Fairview Corporation demonstrated the magic of landlord-tenant collaboration at 155 Wellington with LEED Gold certifications. Rogers Communicationsexcelled in the landlord category for the results at its Brampton
Campus, and TD Bank Group shone in the tenant category for its employee-engagement initiatives.

Launched in May 2011, CivicAction's Race to Reduce challenges Toronto region landlords and tenants in office buildings of
all types, sizes and ages to publicly commit to work together to reduce
energy use in their buildings and to reduce the total energy use in
participating office buildings by at least 10 per cent over four years. The aim is to improve air quality in the Toronto region
and achieve sustained carbon emission reductions in the office building
sector, which now contributes close to 20% of the region's carbon
emissions, according to the Living City Report Card. With over 600 landlords and tenants now participating in the Race to Reduce, 61 were recognized and celebrated at the annual awards that attracted
leaders from the region's commercial real estate community. These
participants occupy over 63.3 million square feet of office space - about 31 per cent of the total office space across the Toronto region.

"Last night put a spotlight on some of the incredible efforts and
results that our participants are making in their quest to reduce
energy and change the way they operate and behave in their buildings,"
said Brad Henderson, Senior Managing Director at CBRE Limited and
voluntary Co-Chair of the Commercial Building Energy Leadership
Council.

Steve Smith, real estate executive and fellow Co-Chair of the Commercial
Building Energy Leadership Council and member of CivicAction's Greening
Greater Toronto Task Force, adds, "With a 2.0 per cent reduction in the
first year of the Race we're on track to achieving the 2014 target. The potential is immense -
a collective 10 per cent reduction over four years equals 37,000 tonnes
of carbon emissions saved, or nearly 27,000 cars off the road.
Participants will enjoy a collective savings of over $25.6 million in
energy costs over four years, and $12.8 million annually in
perpetuity."

*Based on 2010-2011 Total Site Energy Use (kBtu)

For more information about the Race to Reduce and a full list of award winners, see below and visit www.racetoreduce.ca.

2012 Race to Reduce Award Winners
Congratulations to all Race to Reduce participants and to winners in the following categories:

Building Performance - Lowest Energy Use
Awards were presented based on building performance data submitted to
Energy Star's Portfolio Manager, and their resulting Energy Star
performance ratings.

These winners achieved impressive results. An Energy Star performance
rating of 92 indicates that the building is among the top 8% of similar
buildings across North America, while a rating of 93 indicates that the
building is among the top 7% of similar buildings across North America.

Winners:Building team: Royal Bank of Canada and Cadillac Fairview Corporation (155 Wellington)
This winning team truly demonstrated a strong landlord-tenant
relationship in achieving LEED Gold designations for both the
construction and interior fit-out aspect of their building. In doing
so, they followed through on their corporate commitments, raised the
level of sustainability dialogue with occupants, and achieve an overall
energy intensity of 254 ekWh/m2 (equivalent kilowatt hours per square metre).

Landlord:Rogers Communications (Brampton Campusat 8200 Dixie Road)
In 2011, Rogers undertook four key energy initiatives, including a
lighting retrofit of 1,549 fixtures, research and design of high
efficiency gas-fired rooftop units, a roof replacement project, and a
smart satellite-based irrigation system. In addition to driving
significant energy savings (the lighting retrofit achieved a 60%
reduction), this landlord maximized their efforts by communicating best
practices through their Energy & Carbon Reduction Committee.

Tenant:TD Bank Group
This tenant took on a large task by bringing its sustainability program
to the employee level by setting a GHG reduction goal of 1 tonne per
employee by 2015. They demonstrated quantifiable results (early results
show an average of 12% monthly electricity savings) and created a
positive change that has real potential to influence other large
tenants.

Landlord-Tenant Engagement
Fifty three buildings earned engagement awards. This award recognizes
the top 30% of buildings with the most tenant space participating in
the Race (as measured byGross Leasable Area), in six building size categories.

This project is funded in part through the Conservation Fund of the
Ontario Power Authority. CivicAction would like to acknowledge the
support of 2012 Race to Reduce Awards Gold Sponsors CBRE Limited and BOMA Toronto.

CivicAction is also grateful for the support provided to the Race to Reduce by program sponsors BLJC, Cushman & Wakefield, Enbridge Gas
Distribution, Green Business Standards, Toronto Hydro, and Union Gas,
and media and communication partners Canadian Property Management,
Building Strategies and Sustainability, and NATIONAL Public Relations.

About CivicAction
For the past 10 years, the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance
(CivicAction) has brought together senior executives and rising leaders
from all sectors to tackle some of our region's toughest social,
economic and environmental challenges. CivicAction sets a non-partisan
agenda, builds strategic partnerships, and launches campaigns, programs
and organizations that transform our region. CivicAction is led by a
Board of Directors and a 75-leader Steering Committee. For 2012-2013,
CivicAction has three areas of focus: accelerating regional
transportation; enhancing the region's economic performance; and
fostering inclusion and resilience. For more information visit: www.civicaction.ca, @CivicActionGTA

About Greening Greater Toronto
Greening Greater Toronto (www.greeninggreatertoronto.ca) is an initiative of the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance. More
than 200 partners from corporations, government, and the non-profit
sector have joined Greening Greater Toronto and support the vision of a
flourishing region renowned for its environmental action and
innovation.

SOURCE CivicAction

Image with caption: "The 2012 Race to Reduce awards recognized over 60 winners in three categories: Landlord-tenant engagement, Action & Innovation, and Building energy performance. Winners' energy reduction efforts contributed to a collective 2.0% energy reduction by participants in the first year of the four-year Race to Reduce smart energy office challenge. (CNW Group/CivicAction)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121129_C4720_PHOTO_EN_21356.jpg

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